Drying-machine.



www, T: F DEXTER n DRYING MACHINE.

APPL'IU'TION FILED 11213.11, 1910.

Patented vseptk 27, 1910.

rin: unluus Plrlns co.. wnsumaron, n.

BEST AVAILABLE COPY v'.[I:lOl.VlI`-.S F. DEXTER, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

DRYING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Application filed February 17, 1910.

Patented sepa-'27, 1910. serial No. 544,417.

To all 'whom 'it may concern: Y

Be it known vthat I, THOMAS I?. DEXTER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Drying-Machines, of which the following vis a specication. y

This invention relates to improvements in drying-machines, so-called; that is, machines of the class having a plurality of intergearing, revoluble, steam-heated, horizontally disposed drying-cans orl cylinders, around the eripheries of which continuous lengths of c oth, paper or kyarn in a-wet or moist condition are carried from-a source of supply at the front orz"wet' end of the` machine and4 longitudinally of it and delivered in a dry state at its other or rear end. It may be added that usually machines of this type are devised and constructed sothat the steam` used, having a pressure of lseveral pounds, is supplied to the cans from branch pipes leading from a steam-main located at the front side ofthe machine and being 'in continuous opencommunication with the front ends of the cans; similar means being employed for discharging into an exhaust or return-mainj the water-'of' vcondensation as well as uncondensed steam and vapor from the opposite ends of the cans, being the back side of the machine. An objection' to such -former machines'is that they r uire the use of steam having considerab e pressure, and that more or less of it will iow through the individual cans directly into the return-main without ,first having given olii' the number of heat units which should have been utilized for heating the cans, thereby correspondingly reducing the eiiiciency of the machine. A further disadvantage is that such escaping steam and Water passes directly into the atmosphere, or to waste. l i l p The object I have in view is to provide drying-machines' with means for materially increasing `their eiiiciency, and in which said advantageous results are attained or effected in a com aratively ,inexpensive way. To this'end ow ressure steam is,` employed, having say a laction of a pound, oreven minus pressureshewatenlfnlnoudensa -t'ion andV vapor discharged from eamlll first flows into an independentair-ventd` water-seal device. The water then ov\therefrom, as Well as the main` volume of,l

is disposed below the condenser.

tiows or passes from the seal by gravity into a horizontally disposed exhaust pipe,

common to all the seals. At the front or wet end of the machine and below the lower cans is located a combined-heating and condensing-coil or barometric condenser 1 having `its upper or intake end connected with the upper portion of ahead or fitting, constituting .a Vseparating chamber, into which-the.' said. exhaust pipe freely dis charges. The said pipe, it may be observed,

The return-main proper :isinl turn 'located below the='exhaustpipe and condenser andySconnectedA with themlso thatfthef water'ows 1. therefrom intol the'mainbyl gravity action; Themain is also providedwith a water-seal and separator, arranged to prevent Atheentrance of steam or vapor intothe mainrom the` condenser and-exhaustfpipez Si A drying'- machine embodying my improvements may be1 successfully operated bi with greater eiiciency and economy, since; steam having materially lower vor even atmospheric pressure `may be used, and alsoi owing to the fact'that anyfstea'nr'or vapor discharged from the cans is condensed' in the coil and itsheat'utilized. Or, in other! words, by means of this arrangement, anyg steam or vaporfreed from the water flows? into the coil, where it is-condensed,while the Water itself falls by gravity into the returnmain, into which the water condensed from, the said steam or vapor thecoil'-allsoflows. The water may then be discharged from the returnfmain directly in to the atmosphere, 02 into ahot-well, as desired; "As thus devised, each steam-heated can or cylinder is, as it were, wholly independent of the other cylinders in thev matter'fof exhaustgaction; the, construction andV arrangement 'of 'theparts 1 or elements constituting th present improvement being disposedV or combined andi; connected with the exhaust end o f the cylinders so that any discharged steam or:I vapor, as well asvapor Yrevap'oratedl from, the water of condensation discharged "from the cylinders, is prevented from returning and flows into and along an exhaust-pipe. common to all and enters 'ar-combined' radii` ator and condenser located above said pipej. where the latent heat from` said steam oif vapor is utilized as an auxiliary drying means;l thev water resulting or precipitate ,I mounted in a screw-capped chambered bearingo in a well-known manner (see Fig. 2,

. 1e designating the front and 2e the rear bearing). That is to say, the outer end portion of each journal extends through and is supg ported in the adjacent part of the bearing, the latter having a packing p engaged by a follower-ring or gland r backed by a center adjusting-screw r1. The bearings in turn'are i secured to and supported by the longitudinal frames or irders d. The cans are geared together and driven by gears intermeshing at g and secured, say to the rear journals; the arrangement being such that all the lower cans rotate in one direction, the upper cans rotating in a contrary direction,-see arrows J in Fig. 1. The cans are adapted to be heated las usual, that is, by steam flowing from a 53M source of supply into a horizontal steam- `main, or mains, f, from which latter short branch pipes f1 connect it with the respec- 1tive front hollow bearings 1e. The steam V'passes through the trunnions into the revolvfin fabric-carrying cylinders a, the heat .ra iated through the walls acting at the jsame time to evaporate the moisture from the ifabric. The Water or condensed steam produced in each cylinder enters the scoops or buckets s connected with the outer or bottom ends of the tubes s1 and flows into the center itube a1, which is in open communication with the rear trunnion, and into the corresponding bearing, as usual, and as represented in Fig. `2. It may be stated that the continuous web of wet cloth or other fibrous material to be operated upon, is conducted to the lower side of and partly around the barrel of the lirst can 1 and around the other cans, 2, 3, 4, 5, 'etc., in a well-known manner. In lieu of discharging the said water and uncondensed .steam and vapor direct from the rear bear- :in 2 into the return-main proper, as hereto ore, I provide each of them with a .depending seal or trap device A, comprising a basing m1 and a vertical central inner tube y l n2, open at its lower end and vented at c, if

desired; said tube extending upward through he enlar d'head m and into the lower ortion of t e bearings chamber. A continuf usly open ylateral and downwardly extend- 1mg pipe 21,1 leads from said head member into e7 1,17EST AVAILABLE l the horizontal exhaust-pipe L. This latter pipe extends to or nearly to the front or wet end of the machine and terminates in a litting or tee u, constituting a separating chamber, from which a pipe /L2 extends upward and is coupled to a suitable coil or barometric-condenser B located contiguous to, but below the fabric see Fig. 1. The opposite or lower outlet end of the element B discharges via vertical pipe h3 into a casting t1 having a separating-chamber located below said pipe 71,. The last-named chamber discharges directly into the horizontal returnmain t and is also in open communication with said chamber u, the latter connection being produced by means of the horizontal pipe 152 and the short vertical pipe t3, thus forming a water-seal T to prevent the entrance of steam or va or from the exhaustpipe L and element since the -pipet2 is lower than the plane of pipe t, as clearly represented in Fig. 1. 1

By means of my invention the eficiency of drying-machines is increased at a comparatively small cost. The traps or seals A render the cylinders wholly independentof one another at the discharge end. All the water of condensation overflowing from the said seals passes into the exhaust-main h by gravity, and from the latter, via se arating-chamber u and water-seal 'I into t e open returnmain At the same time any uncondensed steam or vapor discharged from the traps A flows via pipes 71,1, 71 chamber u and pipe h2 into the barometric-condenser B, where it is condensed, its thus freed latent heat being radiated through the walls of element B and utilized as auxiliary heating means for drying the fabric as it is fed to the surface of the revolving adjacent cylinder. The-water produced by condensation in the element B Hows by gravity therefrom, via pipe h3, and separating-chamber t1 into the return-main t.

I claim as my invention 1. In a drying-machine of the character described, provided with revolubly mounted hollow heating cans or cylinders, constructed and adapted for the admission and discharge of steam, the combination therewith of an exhaust-main, a combined steam and watertrap inter osed between the discharge end portion o each cylinder and the exhaustmain and communicating with both, a re'- turn-main proper, and a barometric-condenser element, located with relation to the cylinders and connected with both the said mains, adapted and arranged to receive uncondensed steam or vapor from the exhaustmain for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. In a drying-machine having a plurality of revolubly mounted intergearing cans or cylinders arrangedWto,he` steam-heated the Combination?? an exhaust-main* located belOW the cylinders, adapted to receive the water of condensation from the, latter bygravity, a heating and condensing element, constituting auxiliary heating means, connected with and adapted to receive and condense therein steam and vapor from the exhaustmain, a return-main connected With the lower or discharge end of said condensing element, and a Water-seal device communicating With the latter and With the said exhaust and return-mains.

3. In a drying-machine of the character described, provided With revoluble cans adapted to be steam-heated, the combination therewith of a suitably located auxiliary heating device, a main for receiving steam or vapor and Water of condensation from the cans, means for introducing said steam or vapor, and also any vapor revaporated from the Water, into the heating device, and a return-main adapted to receive the Water separated from the steam or vapor in the THOMAS F. DEXTER.

Vitnesses:

GEO. H. REMINGTON, CALVIN H. BROWN. 

